Results 181-200 of 15,366 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Housing Assistance Payment scheme and the Rental Accommodation scheme, administered by the local authorities, are now by far the largest schemes providing rental supports. Policy relating to the Housing Assistance Payment, including a review in the rent limits are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Furthermore, the policy in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government is very conscious of the important role of foster carers in our society. Support for foster carers is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Department for Children, Disability and Equality, and Tusla.The Foster Care Allowance is paid by Tusla. In 2025 it is paid at rate of €400 per week for children aged under 12 and €425 per week for children aged...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Recognition (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I can confirm for the Deputy that my Department is responsible for the issue of Gender Recognition Certificates under the Gender Recognition Act 2015, which came into operation on 4th September 2015. These applications are processed by the Client Identity Services area. Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria are issued a Gender Recognition Certificate in their preferred gender, which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025: Ambitions, Goals and Commitments was published in January 2020. It is the successor to the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion which concluded at the end of 2017 and is the latest in a series of such plans dating back to 1997.The Roadmap for Social Inclusion builds on the work of its predecessors with the aim of reducing the number of people...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Supplementary Welfare Allowance is a means-tested weekly payment provided by the Department to individuals and families who do not have sufficient income to meet their basic needs. It serves as a safety net for those awaiting decisions on other social welfare claims, those in emergency financial situations, or individuals with no income. The allowance includes both a basic payment and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance is my Department's primary disability related social assistance scheme. The means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property – other than the family home – and capital. Disability Allowance has one of the highest capital disregards operated by the Department of Social Protection. A recipient can have up to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The farm assist scheme was introduced in 1999 to provide income support for low income farmers. It replaced the former smallholder's unemployment assistance payment. In line with the then pre-existing arrangements for unemployment assistance (including smallholders), any income from self-employment was exempt from the class S social insurance charge applied to self-employed workers,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My colleague the Minister for Health has lead responsibility for the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024. This legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in this jurisdiction, including domestic altruistic surrogacy. It also provides for the regulation of future surrogacy arrangements undertaken by Irish residents in other...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As announced in Budget 2025, from the 1st January 2025, the Fuel Allowance qualifying conditions for those aged over 70 were extended to those aged over 66 and the means threshold increased to €524 for a single person and €1,048 for a couple. In December 2024, there were 221,459 recipients aged 66 and over in receipt of Fuel Allowance. Under the new criteria, the number...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government prioritises improvements to employment supports to enable more people with disabilities to enter and stay in employment.People with disabilities can access a range of supports through their local Intreo office as Intreo staff can meet with jobseekers to discuss their individual needs, aspirations, and experience, and offer appropriate training and employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. The Department periodically reviews claims across its schemes to ensure that recipients and beneficiaries continue to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government has clearly set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government.This is a major change to the Carer's Allowance and to the Irish social welfare system generally. It is important that we make progress in a way...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly non-means tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. As of May 2025, there were more than 59,000 families in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance in respect of almost 67,000 children....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit has replaced Jobseeker's Benefit for people who have become fully unemployed since 31 March 2025 and who meet the statutory conditions for the scheme. On 7 June 2025, some 11,900 Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit claims were awarded.The purpose of the Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is to provide a financial cushion when a person loses their employment. It...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government recognises the additional difficulties people with disabilities experience in securing and maintaining employment in the open labour market. This is a key issue in the development of the cross-government National Disability Strategy. In December 2023, the Department established the WorkAbility programme - it is co-financed with the EU Employment, Inclusion, Skills and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The legislative basis for implementing the new system was enacted last July. To be known by the brand name, 'My Future Fund', I recently announced it will commence from 1st January 2026.Discussions between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: There have been significant improvements made in recent years to the Fuel Allowance Scheme. These improvements have resulted in many more households qualifying for the payment. In 2023, the enhanced Fuel Allowance measures for people aged 70 years and over were introduced. Disablement Benefit and Half-rate Carers Allowance payment was disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.As of the end of Quarter1 2025 the average processing time for Social Welfare Appeals is 20.9 weeks.The Chief Appeals Officer has put...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, is a whole of government strategy with a five-year timeframe which aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion is an overarching statement of Government strategy, which acknowledges the range of sectoral plans already in place that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Matters relating to foster care and kinship care are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality.This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including foster carers, play and remains fully committed to supporting them. The State Pension (Contributory) system provides a range of measures to recognise caring periods outside of paid...